V85 TT Demo - Test Ride - Road Test - Review merged threadfest

[Litre1000]

But isn’t the Stelvio more competent in every way compared to a V85? Unless of course if your in- seam deprived and void of a muscular build...

[LowRyter]

I own a 2017 V-Strom 650, and I spent 15-20 minutes on the v85tt ...  the more I thought of the comparison, the more I liked it.    It really is like they made small improvements to everything on the V-strom. 
The V85tt:  clutch pull is a bit lighter, front brakes are way better, suspension is much better, handling is close, maybe the v85 is a wee bit better, wind protection is similar, seating position seemed really similar to me, shaft drive is awesome (no chain to oil/adjust), both very easy oil/filter change, V85 way easier to adjust valves but need to do it more often, larger tank (more range).

The V-Strom 650: Much cheaper, probably more reliable, probably can handle more neglect, tubless wheels/tires.

The V-strom 650 has what I would call a "happy motor".  It is happy at 2000 rpms, happy at 3000, happy at 8000, sounds great everywhere ... want to rev it up, yes it is happy to do it.  It does feel like less power than the v85.  The V85 is really nice, but the motor sounds like it has been Euro 4'ed a bit too much.  It runs great, fueling is spot on, is a zippy Moto Guzzi ... but not as happy as the V-Strom.   

So a bit lower powered happy motor (V-strom 650) vs. a more powerful Euro 4'ed motor.

For seating ... it seems to me the V85 is a bit easier to move around on ... seat is a bit flatter ... the V-strom is a bit more scooped out.  But a 15-20 minutes test ride it is hard to tell.

I think the 650 VStrom is one of the most competent motorcycles ever made.  if you think the Guzzi is better that is high praise.  But of course the deference to reliability and longevity are part my assessment of the Suzi.

[lorazepam]

At the risk of kicking someone's sacred cow, the whole adventure bike thing just baffles me.  Do people really hop on one of these expensive, large bikes and go across the country and go trail riding?  And actually enjoy it?  If so, how many people.  Really.  I've had a Kawasaki KLR (a poor man's adventure bike), and a Kawasaki Versys (a bit of a pretender adventure bike?), and taking a bike with that kind of weight into the boonies just wasn't fun.  Off the road, I like my Yamaha XT250.  Goes down the road okay, and gets through the trails okay.  Nothing spectacular, but at least on the trails, it doesn't feel like you're riding your house. 

Just a short ride from where I live in west Michigan, there are trails through the national forest that are sandy, and pose a good challenge to my 250 with it's knobbies.  You gotta keep moving, and keep the power on in some tight spots.  An adventure bike would be a large joke on these trails.  Just turning one of those monsters around on these trails would be a huge chore.  You'd be a sweaty, bug bitten mess by the time you did it. 

Oh...so why did I own my pseudo adventure bikes?  Great rider position, and they're good on dirt roads, and they can get dirty and still look good.  Basically, they're great road bikes that can get dusty, too. 

Okay, so shoot me.

With that out of the way, isn't it remarkable that the Guzzi was able to keep up with the Honda and the BMW, given the resources those companies have to compete in a highly competitive market?  Guzzi's doing it's best in that genre with it's V twin, while Honda could choose from any of their existing engines or develop an engine specifically for that bike (which they probably did...I'm just too lazy and uninterested to check). 

So, go Guzzi.  I'm keeping my V7III and my XT250, but I'd take a V85 in a heartbeat.   

No offense, but many folks ride off road in conditions much different than the woods in the eastern US. I tried riding in the trails in OH with an R80gs, and it sucked bigly.
Take it out west, and there were lot of areas that were a blast to ride. Different horses for different courses. If I were to buy one of these, it would spend 99 percent of it's time on the road, and zero time on tight single track. Pretty much like the majority of these bikes sold.

[pete roper]

That is a phrase Pete would use..
(Actually a Monty Python rip-off..)
But I doubt he’d use it in relation to a large adventure bike.
That is, after all what a Stelvio is....

On the contrary Peter. I think the Stelvio would suck as a 'Round the world' bike. I'm sure there are some people, like Doug, who could handle one in really shitty 'Third World' conditions but most people couldn't. The advantage of the Stelvio is that it is a great two-up touring bike that can happily eat up dirt roads. It is NOT in my opinion a serious 'Off Road' or 'Dreadful Track' machine.

While I'm very fond of mine it is a huge, top heavy handful on bad surfaces and a nightmare on greasy clay! That's the reason I'm almost certainly going to be moving it on in the next year or so and replacing it with an SWM. While the SWM is also not going to be a 'Cutting Edge' round the world tourer for me, riding solo, it will do absolutely everything I'm likely to need it to do here, even in the remoter parts of Oz, with much greater ease, economy, and a lot less weight, than my Stelvio. It also has a simple and easily accessible FI system! What's not to like?

As I recently said elsewhere if I were to go around the world, something I would of liked to do decades ago but I couldn't afford and now my health precludes it, I would choose something mid sized and Japanese. Why? Because they are ubiquitous, simple and easily fixable by 'Bush Mechanics'. The idea of taking something like a BMW GS, (Modern one.) or a V85 would to me be foolish to the point of being almost suicidal.

Others may feel differently.

Pete

(PS. If I was taking a Guzzi I'd probably opt for a T3.)

[Huzo]

Yeah, Typically well thought out response, laden with commonsense.
But when has riding a bike on your own in a foreign country ever had anything to do with common sense ? I know I’d retract this statement in a heartbeat if the brown stuff hit the fan, but I like the edgy excitement that comes with something a little less...”safe”.
I mean your Grandma could ride a GS or Africa Twin to the Nordkapp.
Like I’ve said before, it’s like kissing your sister, really easy but no spice. I know I could be accused of being a romanticist, but I see you more of a Road of Bones type of bloke, up to his armpits with his greasy Neanderthal paws deep in the “bowels” of an old Quota.
And I think I can  imagine what I’m gunna’ cop for saying this, but thinking of you doing the “safe thing” and riding something like a KLR Kawasaki just does mot mesh with my imagery.
You could choose to do it, but I choose not to think about it.

[Huzo]

Pete, in your response #183 you make some points that are solidly founded over years of experience bitter and otherwise, I expect.
Then of course they are your opinions, which can never be wrong because by definition they are just that, opinions.
The reaction of the average Joe, is to tend to lightly shit himself when about to engage in a course of action that you have given counsel against, not because you might growl or something, but one tends to think he might be about to step in a giant turd of which he was forewarned.
BUT...!
On the topic of the V85, you do carry some deeply rooted concerns as to it’s viability but the damn thing seems to be everything that you describe as desireable, as something that you can pick up, tour on, work on and ride on greasy surfaces without soiling your Homer Simpson replica Y fronts...!
Shit I hope you turn out to be wrong, because although I know you will gain no pleasure from it, if they turn out to be a dud, I for one will have to acknowledge that I was benevolently warned.

[Zinfan]

Shit I hope you turn out to be wrong, because although I know you will gain no pleasure from it, if they turn out to be a dud, I for one will have to acknowledge that I was benevolently warned.

Fear not Huzo for I shall stand tall next to you if the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune fly our way as I too have a first year V85TT on order and know that things might not go as hoped but hoping anyways. 

[Huzo]

Fear not Huzo for I shall stand tall next to you if the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune fly our way as I too have a first year V85TT on order and know that things might not go as hoped but hoping anyways.

Colour and options please mate ?
ie
Centrestand, bigger screen, metal cases, engine guards ?

[Zinfan]

Colour and options please mate ?
ie
Centrestand, bigger screen, metal cases, engine guards ?

Giallo Sahara (Yellow/Red/White) Adventure model with metal cases.
Options are centerstand, engine guards, bag liners and the Mia phone interface.  I used my $250 credit for pre-ordering the bike on the stand and guards and had some balance left over so went for the bag liners but would have left those aside if I wasn't under the false idea that the Mia interface came with the bike standard and used the credits to offset the cost of that.  Delivery date?   Lol who knows eh?  Have any V85's landed in Aussie yet (even though you are in Europe at the moment)?  I haven't heard of any in the U.S. yet.

[Huzo]

Giallo Sahara (Yellow/Red/White) Adventure model with metal cases.
Options are centerstand, engine guards, bag liners and the Mia phone interface.  I used my $250 credit for pre-ordering the bike on the stand and guards and had some balance left over so went for the bag liners but would have left those aside if I wasn't under the false idea that the Mia interface came with the bike standard and used the credits to offset the cost of that.  Delivery date?   Lol who knows eh?  Have any V85's landed in Aussie yet (even though you are in Europe at the moment)?  I haven't heard of any in the U.S. yet.

No to the Aussie availability so far mate.
I was onto him three days ago and he said end of June, which is what he has maintained all along.
Do you know the price breakdown of each item individually?
Centre stand
Screen
Bars

[Zinfan]

No to the Aussie availability so far mate.
I was onto him three days ago and he said end of June, which is what he has maintained all along.
Do you know the price breakdown of each item individually?
Centre stand
Screen
Bars

U.S. prices

Center stand $147
Touring windscreen $248
Engine bars $72

There is a fancy Denim jacket you can get for $437 if that is something you'd like but I think I'll pass on that.

[Huzo]

U.S. prices

Center stand $147
Touring windscreen $248
Engine bars $72

There is a fancy Denim jacket you can get for $437 if that is something you'd like but I think I'll pass on that.

That sounds surprisingly reasonable..
(Also no thanks to the jacket..)
I’m gunna’ say yes to all three of those options.
I only got to about 80 kph for a short bit on my ride so can’t even comment on the screen.

[Zinfan]

That sounds surprisingly reasonable..
(Also no thanks to the jacket..)
I’m gunna’ say yes to all three of those options.
I only got to about 80 mph for a short bit on my ride so can’t even comment on the screen.

I think on the screen I'll wait for more options to become available or at least have more impressions from owners once more of the bikes hit the streets.  I think I managed to hit 50 mph on my test ride so I have no idea on how it will work for me but when I pick up my bike I'll be bringing it home partly along some unavoidable Los Angeles freeways so I'll find out quickly how if and how soon a replacement might be needed.

[SteveRivet]

Oh...so why did I own my pseudo adventure bikes?  Great rider position, and they're good on dirt roads, and they can get dirty and still look good.  Basically, they're great road bikes that can get dusty, too. 

That's a perfectly good rationale, and you're honest about it.  That's the same reason I own adventure bikes, plus the fact that you can set them up with tons of hard luggage easy that doesn't look weird. 

[Huzo]

I actually typed kph but it came out mph.
I only got to 50 mph (80 kph) also.
BTW.
Owning any Guzzi can turn into an adventure..

[Zinfan]

I actually typed kph but it came out mph.
I only got to 50 mph (80 kph) also.
BTW.
Owning any Guzzi can turn into an adventure..

I have two already and while prep'ing the V7 for possible sale I broke a fitting and am now awaiting a $150 hose assembly to show up in order to fix it. 

[rocker59]

At the risk of kicking someone's sacred cow, the whole adventure bike thing just baffles me.  Do people really hop on one of these expensive, large bikes and go across the country and go trail riding?  And actually enjoy it?  If so, how many people.  Really. 

Here in The Ozarks, I see a lot of ADVriders.  Bikes are dirty, and so are they, so they must be venturing off pavement.

We have lots of unpaved county roads, and forest roads, including a bunch of 2-track.  Venture west of The Ozarks and the number of miles of unpaved roads and 2-track goes up dramatically.

Years ago, i bought a Guzzi Quota for the precise reason that I wanted to ride New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, with much of the points of interest being off pavement.  Yes, it was a beast to handle in some deep sand I encountered on Burr Trail in The Water Pocket Fold.  Was able to make it through, and lunch at Boulder Utah was my reward.  On that same trip, I took it up to Clear Lake outside Silverton Colorado, and to the ghost town of Animas Forks.  Yeah, it felt a little heavy on some of the steep sections, but I was able to ride it from Arkansas to Mexican Hat Utah 1135 miles the first day of my trip, carrying everything I'd need for 10-days on the road.  Can't do that with a dirt bike.  And it sure was nice riding home across Oklahoma on my last day.  A rare tail wind and cruising 70mph-75mph behind the big touring screen was nice.

Sure, some nutter might have been able to do the same things on a street bike, but the Quota's long travel suspension and 21-inch front wheel made it doable.  That long-travel suspension was also nice on some long sections of gravel road, where I was able to make 40mph-50mph.  No way you'd do that on a streetbike with half the suspension travel.

Oh, and yes, I ran into some fellow motorcyclists doing the same things on their ADVbikes.













Dang, all this reminiscing is making me want to go test ride a V85 TT !!!

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Has anybody fitted any QD exhaust components to their V85 yet?  I rather like the intermediate collector pipe that links the headers to the muffler.  It eliminates that huge, vulnerable cat box that sits all exposed at the bottom & behind the sump pan & bash plate.  A simple bolt-on replacement for the big, ugly, easily damaged front collector/cat chamber.

https://www.ebay.it/itm/SUPPRIME-CATALYSEUR-QD-EXHAUST-MOTO-GUZZI-V85-TT/202659500396?hash=item2f2f72916c:g:cpQAAOSwk2Jcvsjl

Given that the standard muffler has an array of allen bolts seemingly holding the rear cover in place, I'm assuming that it can be (relatively) simply & easily disassembled &/or recored.  I quite like the look of the standard exhaust muffler; a much better aesthetic than the ludicrously extravagant (GBP 1059/ AU $2000+) boring & generic-looking Arrow accessory 'sport' can.  The standard muffler simply has a more unique, characterful & integrated look I feel, but its Euro V compliant tone, level & presence is somewhat lacking in its standard, unmodified state.  Unbecoming for a mid-capacity Guzzi in my opinion.  But I'd imagine that ditching the ugly big & heavy collector box alone should have an immediate significant effect on weight, performance & tone. The manufacturer claims 3.3 kg weight saving & an (ambitious?) extra 4.4 hp!

Coring the convoluted, tortuous gasflow pathway for a simpler, well-packed perforated stainless tube should do wonders for the standard muffler too, removing a few additional kg & probably releasing another few stray ponies & a more befitting sonorous intonation in the process.  Many modern exhausts, being screwed or riveted instead of welded together are eminently suited to modification and tuning.  I've had satisfactory results from my Aprilia's cans (after remapping) & Nuda's Leo, & don't realistically see why Guzzi's latest should be any different.

[usedtobefast]

But isn’t the Stelvio more competent in every way compared to a V85? Unless of course if your in- seam deprived and void of a muscular build...

You know, I'm starting to think this way too.  I can get a brand new (leftover) Stelvio for ~$3000 USD less than the V85tt.  The Stelvio is, what, 80-90 lbs heavier?  I don't have an inseam challenge but I do weigh 155 lbs so the Stelvio could certainly toss me whichever way it wanted.    

[Tusayan]

Given the universally positive acclaim in relation to the V85TT's handling, and the second class ratings of the Stelvio handling (i.e. acceptable but nothing special) I think there's at least one area of pure performance where the TT has already been judged better and more competent.  When you factor the increased simplicity, much better appearance and good value, I don't think there's any question that the TT is better than the Stelvio, the Quota, or the V65TT in relation to the market into which its selling, and that it will sell better than any of those for that reason.

[SED]

V85 is not my type of bike, but weirdly l'm liking it.  Then a couple weeks ago a friend with a Triumph Tiger (army green 800 XC?) went to a track day where Optimum Performance (new Seattle area Guzzi dealer) had a V85 to test ride and he said it compared well with his Triumph.  He got to ride pavement and gravel and said the V85 had a little less power, but liked it a lot and envisioned having one in the future.  He is a life-long motorcyclist with 20X my experience and has toured and explored and gotten lost on forest roads on the Triumph, so I trust his comparison.  He also rides a Cushman silly miles and has a LM1 with scrubbed pegs from the track so he knows what he's talking about!   

Looking forward to seeing more V85s.

[Glawster]

I also had a Tiger 800, which for me seemed to be a perfect touring motorcycle. - certainly I preferred it my previous GS1200LC. I had a ride on the V85 and ordered one.  No need for detailed analysis of every statistic available - I just liked it and enjoyed riding it.  That's good enough for me.

[Zinfan]

You know, I'm starting to think this way too.  I can get a brand new (leftover) Stelvio for ~$3000 USD less than the V85tt.  The Stelvio is, what, 80-90 lbs heavier?  I don't have an inseam challenge but I do weigh 155 lbs so the Stelvio could certainly toss me whichever way it wanted.   

I own a Stelvio and I could instantly tell the V85tt was a much easier beast to handle on my short test ride.  Now a Stelvio at $3000 savings would be a good way to go imo but the V85tt feels much lighter.  Also that 80-90 lbs represents almost a 20% difference in overall weight.  I will have to wait until my V85 shows up to get a better sense of it but it also felt to me like the Stelvio carries it's weight a bit higher than the new model and when I fill that tank up I can tell I have to be deliberate when moving at slow speeds or in parking lots. 

[mjptexas]

I managed to score a full day test ride on a V85 TT.  So, last week on July 4th I spent the majority of the day on this V85 TT, logging 360 miles:





Needless to say that was enough time to form my opinion on the bike.  Below is my impression of the latest from Moto Guzzi.

First the Bad, I have two complaints about the bike:

1.   It’s a pretty tall bike.  I could not flat-foot the bike (I have a 31 inch inseam).  I could get both balls of my feet on the ground but it’s still tall.  Fortunately the bike is very well balanced so it was not difficult to deal with when stopped.  The height is a borderline show stopper for me.  There is a seat that is ¾ of an inch lower.  The dealer didn’t have one in stock but said I could try the seat when they get one in.

2.   The Seat.  The seat is reasonably comfortable, but, it locks you into a fixed riding position.  On very long rides I like to be able to move around a little bit.

Everything else about the bike is almost perfect.  Here are my other observations.

The Ride
 Most of the 360 miles were on back roads.  I did spend enough miles on highways to get an idea about how the bike would feel on a long highway ride.  it handles 70-85 mph very nicely.   I only rode about 5 miles on an unpaved road, although a significant number of miles were spent on some poorly surfaced roads.

Ergonomics
The V85 has a typical upright Adventure Bike riding position.  It is very roomy.  The pegs seem reasonably low so taller riders should be comfortable.  There is a slight lean to the bars, which are comfortably wide.

The windscreen works very well, and is manually adjustable over a narrow range.  In the low position,  break point for the wind was right at the chin bar on my helmet.  I tried the screen in two other positions.  When I extended the screen to the halfway point I experienced a slight improvement in coverage without much increase in noise.  When I fully extended the screen I noticed a significant increase in noise.   I never experienced any buffeting regardless of where I had the screen set.

Suspension
I found the suspension to be quite good, although I did not make any suspension changes.  The suspension did a great job of soaking up bumps, even on the unpaved roads. 

Ride Modes
The V85 TT has four ride modes:  Rain, Road, Off-Road and Off-Road without ABS.  I started out in Rain as the roads were wet when I left the dealer, but spent most of the time in Road mode.

Brakes
The brakes are quite good.  I did have to make one very quick stop, but did not trigger the ABS. 

Handling
The V85 is very stable at most any speed.  It handles fast sweepers very nicely.  Steering may be slightly heavy in very tight, technical sections.

Drivetrain
The V85 engine is nothing short of amazing.  I was very suspect when Moto Guzzi claimed this 850 cc 2 valve push-rod engine would make 80 hp.  The configuration seemed too close to that of the V9 to produce that much power.  After a day on the bike I’m a believer.  I don’t know if it makes 80 hp, but it is significantly stronger than any small block Guzzi I’ve ridden.  Fueling is nearly perfect across the entire powerband.  It will pull smoothly from 1,500 rpm all the way to the redline.  I noticed no glitches of any kind across the entire power-band.  There is very little mechanical noise, and the exhaust is on the quiet side.  And finally, fuel mileage was insane.  I computed the fuel mileage at the gas pump.  On one fill-up I saw 53.7 mpg, and on the other I saw 51.4 mpg.  The bike’s computer showed 48.5 and 47.3 respectively.  This is the only Guzzi I’ve ever ridden where the computer’s gas mileage was lower than what I would calculate at the pump.  50 mpg will give you about a 275 mile range. 

The transmission is very smooth and shifts smoothly.

Comparisons
Before returning the bike I did a comparison ride with my Griso and my BMW RnineT Urban GS.

V85 vs Griso:  This was really a comparison of the V85 engine to the 8v 1200 cc Griso engine.  My ‘seat of the pants dyno’ says the V85 has about 2/3 to ¾  the oomph of the Griso engine.  However, the V85 is better behaved, primarily because of the better fueling.

V85 vs the RnineT Urban GS:  The RnineT is more of a direct competitor to the V85.  Price is very similar.  I have no problem flat-footing the RnineT even though the specs say the RnineT’s seat is ¾ of an inch taller than the V85.  I think the narrower seat profile coupled with more suspension sag may make the difference.  Performance-wise the RnineT is significantly quicker/faster than the V85, which should be expected given the displacement and power discrepancy.  Transmissions are similar with regards to shifting and ratios.  The RnineT may feel just a bit more stable.  If you were looking at buying one or the other it would primarily come down to whether you like the feel of the BMW Boxer engine vs. the Guzzi V twin.

Summary

The V85 really is a great bike.  If you are giving any consideration at all to an Adventure bike you owe it to yourself to ride one.  As you can see from my comments I found very few faults with the bike.  One reason to wait on a purchase is to see what other bike variants this engine shows up in.  It’s just too good to be relegated to only one bike. 

I’m not sure if there is one in my future or not.  Currently two things are in the way: 1) I need to sell a bike to make room (My Harley will be going on the block this week). 2) I need to sit on one with the low seat installed.  The reach to the ground may be more than I want to live with on a touring bike.

[Cam3512]

Did you try to remove the two rubber spacers underneath the stock seat and give that a try?   The demo V85 I rode had them removed and it made a difference (I also sat on another with the spacers in place).  I do have the lower seat on order, but the dealer has yet to see it.

[Tom]

Thanks for the review.   

[LowRyter]

good info

[mjptexas]

Did you try to remove the two rubber spacers underneath the stock seat and give that a try?   The V85 had them removed and it made a difference (I also sat on another with the spacers in place).  I do have the lower seat on order, but the dealer has yet to see it.

Wasn't aware of that option.

[elvisboy77]

What a great review, thank you!  I am excited to try one.

[Huzo]

Good report mate.
It’s too late for me anyway but appreciate the chance to read what I can. From what I found on my two rides, I’d say you are right on the money..